The Price of Freedom
by Cor10Bal
Summary: Edward and Bella haven't met until the beginning of school. After deciding to take a leap everything will change. Will Bella be able to cope with the decision that Edward has made, and will Edward even come back? (Edward/Bella pairing, Bella/Jacob pairing) Warning, explicit material may come into effect.
1. The Beginning

The Price of Freedom

**Copyright protection: **_All characters belong to Stephanie Meyers. All other content is mine._

Gun shots rang in the distance, a familiar sound to hear in Seattle. The sky was dark, covered in a thick layer of clouds that blocked out all natural light and the wind blew slightly, mist swirling in the air. The sound of feet walking the paved sidewalks made for an interesting melody in the darkness.

_Why am I here?_ That is all that Edward has thought in the past few hours he has been in Washington State. As he walks further from the center of Seattle, towards the outskirt, it begins to get darker. He shakes his head to clear his thoughts.

_Why did I come back? When did I decide it was a good idea? _ He slows, looking towards a small parking lot with one, lone car among the painted lines. The bulb in the street lamp was out, making it seem even darker. He stops at the edge of the sidewalk, looking to his left and then his right before darting accross the road to the parking lot. Once he makes it to the opposite side walk, he shoves his hand in his pocket, pulling out a set of keys. Hitting the "UNLOCK" button on the control, the Volvo's hazard lights flash twice to indicate it received the command. A sigh escapes Edward's mouth as he climbs into the driver seat. _I'm never going to be able to find her! _He shakes his head once before starting up the engine.

No matter the mood Edward was in, once his precious Volvo turned over and he heard the subtle purr of the engine, he always calmed slightly. Tonight it worked just the same. He let out another sigh before leaning his head back against the head rest. The sound of an instrimental peice floating throughout the car. His frustrations seemed to just melt away. Slowly, he opens his eyes, throws the car into drive, and speeds off towards Forks. Time to get home.

A couple hours after he returned home, Edward had passed out thinking about the chocolate brown eyes with the small gold flakes, dreaming of the day he could look into them again. Once the morning dawned, Edward opened his eyes to the blinding sunlight. It was very rare in coastal Washington State to have a bright, warm, clear day and he planned on taking full advantage of it.

After showering, shaving, and dressing into some shorts and a tight fitting black sleeveless shirt, he makes his way to the kitchen. He frowns as he is confronted with the task of making his _own_ breakfast once more. After deciding on scrambled eggs, he eats quickly before changing, locking up the house, and leaving. His new music classes didn't teach themselves!

* * *

Bella's eyes popped open with a start, the sun warming her body quickly. She stretches, padding off to the single bathroom. After taking care of business, showering, and dressing she makes her way to the kitchen on the lower level. Grabbing a granola bar from a jar on the counter, she makes her way to the desk in her living room. As she waits for her lap top to boot up, she begins to recall the dream she quickly woke from.

His eyes were bright green, brown and gold flecks painted throughout in the most admiring way. She smiled at this thought, knowing she could stare into them for hours. A candle lit dinner, accompanied by a soft playing piano in the background, played out in her mind's eye. A gentleman sat accross from her, though his face was hidden in shadow. All she could make out were her eyes. _"I've missed you"_ the man says in a soft, inviting voice. _"I've missed you too..."_ she says shyly. Her eyes trace the outline of his face, placing it in her memory. _"I've been looking forward to seeing you all week."_ The man chuckles and nods, _"Likewise, my dear."_

**"You've got mail!"** Bella jumps, cursing her computer for breaking into her day dream. She sighs and shakes her head, picking up the wrapper of her breakfast she dropped. After tossing it into the wastebasket next to the desk, she opens her email. As she looks over the messages, one catches her eye. _'Starting this semester, music classes!'_ She double clicks the link and begins to read over the email sent from the school she teaches at.

_Dear staff, _

_I'm pleased to announce that we have been granted funding to start a new class here at Forks High School. Musical lessons will be starting this fall for all students. Also, we have a new teacher who will be guiding this class, Mr. Edward Cullen. He is also providing night classes from 6pm to 9pm for adults and personal training for those whom would like to join. All staff are eligable to enroll in these classes. Please help Mr. Cullen to feel welcome in this town and school. Also, welcome back, classes begin August 5th._

_Sincerely,_

_Administration_

Bella smiles and reads through the email once more, noting the date. Looking at her desk calander, August 5th is today! Of course, she already knew what day it was. She quickly weeds out the rest of her email, noting the things she needed to know before shutting down her lap top and packing it into her carrying case. She quickly grabs her things before shuffling out of her house, locking it behind her, and making her way to her 1986 Chevrolet C10. After situating everything in the cab, she starts it up and begins the twenty minute treck to her school. This is going to be an interesting year.


	2. First Sight

First Sight

Bella pulled into the parking lot of the school, smiling to herself. The students weren't required to be at school until eight this morning since it was the beginning of school, so Bella didn't have to worry about running into anyone. She quietly made her way through the school before entering her classroom on the second floor. Again she smiled, looking around the space. Fifteen desks sat evenly spaced apart in the room, facing her large oak desk. The white board was clear and clean behind the desk. Also, a basket sat next to the door labeled "**Cell Phones**" for her students to get rid of the distraction. Once she placed her things where she could get to them easily, she began to get ready for the start of the year.

After placing a course guide and a book on the fifteen desks, she walked to the front and wrote on the board "Welcome Back! My name is Miss Swan" Once all the larger things were in order for class, she began to work on the roster and filling out her grade book before the bell rang. Slowly, students began to file into the room. She stood, smiling at everyone as they moved to their seats. She allowed them to choose their own seating for the first week before making any changes, learning which students could be placed together and which could not. Once the last bell rang, she started her class.

"Welcome back students! My name is Miss Swan. On your desk in front of you are your books and a course guide, along with the requirements of the class. The course guide is not set in stone and shall be changed throughout the year as I see fit. There will days that we fall behind, or even skip ahead on something if the test scores are high enough. Does everyone understand?"

"Yes, Miss Swan" the class replies, in a dull voice.

She glances around before noticing that someone is already texting. "Wilson, please bring me your phone." Wilson groans and stands, bringing her the phone. She quickly drops it in a basket at the door before placing it on the first desk. "Everyone, please put your phone in the basket at the beginning of class. Please pass the basket around the room." She looks around the room, seeing the students digging in their pockets and their backpacks for their phones to place in the basket. "I will not tolerate the use of cell phones unless I say other wise. The basket will be placed by the door every morning. At the end of class, I will bring the basket around and allow you to pick up your phones. If you are caught using your phone during class you will be sent to the office. If you are caught stealing a phone from the basket, you will be sent to the office. Are we clear, everyone?"

"Yes, Miss Swan."

"Wonderful, let us begin."

* * *

"Alright class, who here knows how to play an instrument?" Edward looks around the room, smiling at the raised hands. Only a hand full of the twenty students know, but that is better than he was expecting. "Please tell me what you can play." The students with the raised hands begin to name off the instruments, showing group's diversity. "Wonderful, that is a great start. Now, who here knows how to sing?" As the hands start raising, his smile gets even bigger. A large part of the class knows how to sing. "Fantastic! Alright, can all the singers sit on the right side of the room and all the instrumentalists move to the left side of the room, sitting by someone who can play the same instrument. All others, sit in the middle so we can figure out what you can do." As the students move to their designated sides, he begins to look over his notes.

"What we're going to do is start with the singers. Each singer is going to come into my office and sing a part of a song that they know, then we will run through a couple of scales to learn what your rang is. Tomorrow, the instrumentalists will do the same with their instruments, that way the will know to bring them in. The day after, everyone who is in between will come to my office and we will discuss what you would like to do." He looks around the room, noticing that some of the students are beginning to talk among themselves. "While I am working with each student, Mr. Jenkins will be watching over the class. Everyone needs to write me a one page essay on what you love about music and how it connects to your life. The essay is due at the end of the class. Emily Lamond, please come to my office." Edward moves to his office, allowing Emily to enter first before shutting the door and beginning her 'audition'.

Over the course of the day, he dealt with the same thing. Some students were amazing singers, while others couldn't carry a tune in a bucket with a lid. Luckily the day went by quickly, and before he knew it, it was over. He stood and stretched before making it to his office once more, with the essays in hand. Tonight would be the same thing since he had a night class for adults beginning today. He quickly stuffed his items in his bag before locking his office and heading out. He knew he'd have to be back in a few hours, but he wanted to eat something first.

* * *

Bella stacked her papers up neatly, placing them in her laptop case before standing and locking up her room. She smiled as she made her way out of the school, towards her old truck. Finally, she settled herself in the cab before making her way out of the parking lot and towards her house.

The small house she lived in had belonged to her parents. Her mother had died of cancer ten years earlier and her father had passed because of a heart attack in his sleep five years after; she inherited the house after her father passed.

As she made her way through the front door and into the kitchen, she placed her belonging on the kitchen table before making her way to her bedroom. She quickly changed from her work clothes into a pair of comfy jeans and a t-shirt. She unloaded her bag, booting up her laptop. As it was booting, she made herself a sandwich before sitting down and looking over her emails.

_Dear Staff,_

_ Please don't forget that the first evening music class starts today at 6 pm. Everyone is encouraged to attend and sign up. Classes are in room 119. Thank you!_

_Sincerely,_

_Administration_

Bella chuckled to herself as she thought over whether she should attend. Since she wasn't helping with any clubs this year, and there really wasn't much else to do, she decided she would give it a shot. _If I get to nervous, or the teacher is a dick, I'll quit._ She told herself.

Once she finished looking over all her emails and grading a couple of the papers she had handed out today, she decided it was time to get ready for the class. She quickly moved all her things to her desk, before making her way to the bathroom to freshen up. She quickly re-applied her light make up and brushed out her mousey brown hair before tying it up and walking down stairs. She grabbed her purse, locked the front door and left quickly to make sure she made it to class on time. Finally, after parking and making her way up to the school, she entered through the main doors and rushed to room 119. She checked her watch, seeing that it was fifteen til, before walking into the room. She saw a clip board with a paper on it to sign up for the class. She quickly signed her name before looking around the room. A pair of bright green eyes with brown and gold flecks quickly caught her attention, causing her to freeze in her spot.

* * *

Edward made it home in just enough time to make a quick supper and grade a few essays before having to make his way back to the school. After he set a microwave dinner to cook, he made his way to his tiny round table to begin on his first essay. Once the microwave went off, he brought it to the table to eat.

Once he finished eating, he had already graded thirty different essays. He looked up at the clock on his wall before determining that it was time he needed to leave. He quickly tossed the disposable tray before changing out of his work clothes and into some normal clothes for this class. He grabbed his keys and locked up, heading for the school. Once he parked, he entered the school and made his way to his office. He quickly went through all his things before grabbing some sheet music and making his way out of the office. As he looked up, a pair of deep chocolate eyes with gold flakes caught his eye. He stood their, shock clear on his face. "It's you..."


End file.
